countdown to the party!

The capes are sewn. The little raw cupcakes with chocolate frosting are made. The veggies and fruits are in the fridge awaiting preparation. The presents are wrapped.

Giraffe balloon hats aren't happening - it was way too complicated. Plus the whole seven balloons to make one hat and my wanting to reduce, reuse, recycle - it wasn't a match.

Kiernen had his first visit to Chuck E. Cheese's today - for another kiddo birthday party. He absolutely adores this girl, and we knew she was going to have her party there (there being nebulous as Kiernen had never experienced CEC's before), but that we weren't going because she had only a set number and she wanted to invite friends from school (also, she is six and wanted mostly kids her age there). And then one of the school friends couldn't make it, and suddenly there was an invitation at our door.

Sigh.

Did I mention how perfectly okay I was with us not being exposed to such overstimulation just yet? Really, I mean - really.

So we went. And it wasn't quite as loud as I'd imagined it to be, but it was - well, if you've ever been there, you know how over the top it is. And Kiernen LOVED it. He and his friend went on all sorts of rides there - it was really what they wanted to do - and they loved feeding the "money" into the machines. Each kiddo got a little cup of tokens as a part of the birthday package. Kiernen delighted in selecting the things he wanted to put money into the machines to do, and he really really loved the rides. He didn't want to leave. He said he wanted HIS birthday to be at Chuck E. Cheese's.

Sigh. The great thing is that he was totally fine (as in didn't cry or really even ask about it) with eating french fries while the other kids had pizza and cake. He asked for the red and orange beverages they had there, and I told him no, it's full of sugar and he can have water. He whined a bit at that - I really think he thought it was juice - but he let it go. I was really worried about how he might handle seeing everyone BUT him eating all of that stuff, but he was too entranced by the 5 TV screens to be concerned.

Tomorrow we're literally having the contrasting party - handmade capes and party hats instead of gift bags, crafts using recycled glass jars and paper, food made entirely of organic ingredients, most of it raw, no sugar anywhere in sight, cake made of watermelon and other fruits, and water as the beverage. Decorations are Tibetan prayer flags.

Luckily all Kiernen REALLY cares about is having all of his friends there to celebrate with, being sung "Happy Birthday" to, blowing out the candles, and of course - the presents. So we're good.

Oh! I forgot to mention, my serger totally came back to life! Apparently there is this section in my manual called "troubleshooting" that I somehow couldn't find/completely missed the first three times I looked at it.

Photos hopefully forthcoming...